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cyberbarf VOLUME 19 No 4 EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE NOVEMBER, 2020 MISINFORMATION FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET iTOONS THE NEW NORMAL WHETHER REPORT
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cyberculture, commentary, cartoons, essays
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cyberbarf MISINFORMATION COMMENTARY Misinformation has become a serious topic. Platforms such as facebook and Twitter are using computer AI and staff to take down misinformation, especially in the area of politics and Covid response. However, this action against misinformation is not new. Politicians, in order to get elected, have been lying for generations to the public. Why now? Because of fear. Fear that their candidate will lose. Fear that their position on science or religion will be drowned out. Fear that society is in free fall. Social media platforms have had a safe harbor against general media liability because they were not publishers of the content on their sites. It was a governmental trade off to keep the free flow of information across the internet. But once platforms cross the line to edit content, they assume the role of being a publisher - - - no different than the New York Times or CNN. This should expose them to civil liability for slander and libel just as a local newspaper can be sued for a defamatory letter-to-the-editor. The take down of alleged misinformation actually fuels the rampant distrust for media companies and Big Tech. The controlling shareholders of facebook and Twitter have their personal and business bias on full display. For every group or person affected by a block, account suspension or take down, their followers scream bloody murder. It continually seeds the fields of discord. But misinformation is not new. It used to be called propaganda. Forces used it to try to undermine enemy nations by trying to get its populous to rebel or not fight for their leaders. In wars, military planes often released tens of thousands of leaflets in enemy territory. But it was not just used overseas. During war time, governments created slick patriotic ads so the public would continue to fund the war effort. Nothing has really changed. The principles of misinformation are rooted in basic advertising: try to influence a person's behavior. When you hear a talking head rail against being blocked from giving their views on social media, one must consider that there are other means of communication. The largest sector of communication is the individual. Just about every person on the planet has a smart phone and the means to express themselves on instagram, facebook, tik toc, YouTube, etc. The point of entry is very low. But the problem is that 5 billion people are flooding the web with content which makes each individual's post merely a drop in the ocean. This is why Big Tech is the new U.S. antitrust target. The Department of Justice filed suit against Google for alleged monopolistic business practices, specifically having its search application the default web browser on phones and desktop computers. Some legal experts believe the government's case is weak. Google may have a popular browser but there are many other browsers in use. Every person can change their browser. It seems that Google is a target, like other big technology firms, because they are BIG in profit creation, market capitalization and influence. Governments have been trying to reel in Internet use. American politicians are envious of other totalitarian nations like China that can crush dissent by turning off parts of the web access to their own citizens. Leaders are obsessed with controlling the message, especially their own image and delectability. They hate being made fun of by opponents and those pesky editorial cartoonists. Instead of having a free forum of ideas, there is a class of people who want to force a collective group think on us. It is so much easier to control a wild array of diverse people and ideas by turning them into passive sheep. In Illinois, there is a constitutional amendment on the ballot. A civics organization filed suit against the Secretary of State for its publication of the amendment before the general election. The basis of the suit was the misinformation contained in the position statement FOR the Fair Tax Amendment. Proponents, mainly the government officials who have racked up massive public deficits, say that rich people should pay more (because they are rich.) Illinois has a constitutional provision that creates a flat tax of 4.95 percent. Whether you make $10,000 or $10 million, you pay the same rate. In this example, the $10,000 taxpayer would owe $495. The rich taxpayer would owe $495,000. If you do the math, the rich taxpayer pays a 1,000 times more than the other taxpayer. This calculation is not contained in the election information . . . for a reason. The proponents continually advertise (including the Democratic governor who spent $50 million of his own money to campaign for the amendment) that people earning under $250,000 would not have their taxes raised. But a reading of the actual amendment language says no such thing. It merely states that the flat tax can be repealed in favor of a graduated income schedule (like the federal government tax rate scheme). Illinois politicians desperately need more revenue to pay themselves their obscene pensions (many will retire to get payments dramatically more than their past salaries.) The state cannot even accurately calculate its budget deficits. The range is $160 billion to $300 billion in red ink. How can anyone in their right mind trust what politicians say? The American Dream was the opportunity of any person to work hard and become rich, successful and a good citizen. Being wealthy is not a sin. Being wealthy is not a crime. But now, current politicians, who themselves are upper middle class or better, paint wealthy citizens as evil. The crime is that they make more money than the poor. But again, making money is a not a crime (unless you want to economically enslave everyone.) The US Presidential debates were not presidential. The first one was the worst first grade school yard tantrum in the history of American debates. Reporters gave up fact checking because nothing had a ring of truth to it. The polls afterward showed a dismal response by the voters. The vast majority cringed that either of these two candidates would be elected president. But it does not matter. Yelling and screaming nonsense that your base wants to hear is all that matters. Trolling has been overtaken by verbal foaming-at-the-mouth abuse. One cannot have an intellectual discussion about public policy without immediate polarization of political talking points. American life was not supposed to be run through a political sausage grinder. The vast majority of people just want to be left alone. They do not want to be ordered to quarantine, to close their businesses, to home school their children then be expected to pay double in taxes. The Libertarian candidate for President quipped, "Why would you waste your vote on either Trump or Biden?" But her message like all third parties has been silenced by lack of access to the main stage. So people tend to lose hope and become apathetic. When they sink to the low point of losing control, that is when the vultures pounce to take control - - - using misinformation to take away the heart and soul of the people. |
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cyberbarf FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET
There is a new amusement park in Kobe, Japan that will feature a zip line through the mouth of Godzilla. Godzilla is the most famous of Japanese brands. It is a double down on the anxiety of zipping along at height without a net and going through a monster's mouth (with flashbacks to Jurassic Park). No doubt it will be a popular ride and huge GoPro uploads on SNS. Source: Neatorama
Computer animation has come along way. Animation films as a class continue to lead the collective box office totals. Filmmakers have found the key to the Pixar magic by making films that appeal to both kids and their parents. Now, computer artificial intelligence programs are creating more life-like renderings of animated characters. The more human looking the characters the more freaked out some people become. But the idea of generating a photorealistic CGI actor is not new. Hollywood thought of the idea in the 1980s, but technology did not have capacity to reincarnate John Wayne or Buster Keaton for the 21st Century. But as Max Headroom once said, the future is only 20 minutes away. Source: Cartoon Brew.
iToons ..
cyberbarf THE NEW NORMAL LISTY Our lexicon will soon be overused with the moniker: The New Normal. What will be the New Normal? Will we accept it? EMPTY SCHOOLS On-line learning is now into its second school year. Students hate it. It takes away the reasons for being in school: socializing with your friends. Parents hate it. It takes away from their daily routine because they have to help their kids with their large, daily homework dumps. EMPTY OFFICES Corporate America has recently found out that it does not have to rent millions of square feet of office space in order to run its administrative, middle management or service businesses. Workers can be productive from home. Managers can have their meetings via Zoom. They can exchange contracts, communications, etc. through secured email and electronic document services. Unless you are physically manufacturing or assembling a product, a company may never have to have in person meetings again. EMPTY STORE FRONTS One only has to drive through their hometown to notice the increasing number of empty store fronts. Lock down restrictions have closed mom-and-pop businesses such as bars, restaurants, nail salons and barber shops. More than half of small businesses in retail area will permanently close since they have been effectively shut down for 8 months. People have gotten used to on-line ordering and shopping, including food delivery. EMPTY THEATERS Some of the largest movie theater chains are on the verge of bankruptcy. Social distancing rules made it unfeasible to open theaters to patrons. Stage companies are in the same sinking boat. People now rely on streaming services such as Hulu, Disney + and Apple TV for new content such as movies that would have been released in theaters. EMPTY CHURCHES Government officials have often blamed mass gatherings at churches as the cause of the virus spread. The curtailment of religious services clearly hurt the denominations who even before the pandemic had felt declining church memberships. EMPTY STADIUMS Despite some sports owners and colleges forcing the issue, most sporting events have been held in front of empty seats. American minor league baseball was totally wiped out. Some of those teams will not come back in 2021 due to financial losses or MLB's decision to radically change its relationship with MiLB. Even high schools are wondering what to do when football and basketball is allowed to be played at school. The group experience, the energy of a home crowd, is being lost by prohibition of mass gatherings. EMPTY NEWS PAGES It is a cascade effect. There are no new businesses. There are no retail advertisers. There are no discount inserts. The local newspaper is nearing extinction. If local papers go under, citizens will not have easy access to local news that affects their lives more than the general national newscasts (public education, taxes, crime stories, etc.)
The New Normal can be defined by living WITHOUT something(s). Will some of these things rebound, come back? Perhaps. Will some of these things not come back or if they do, it will be a shell of its former existence? Probably.
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cyberbarf THE WHETHER REPORT |
cyberbarf STATUS |
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Question: Whether the US Presidential election will be decided in the Courts? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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Question: Whether Black Friday will be an on-line disappointment? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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Question: Whether international tourism rebound in 2021? |
* Educated Guess * Possible * Probable * Beyond a Reasonable Doubt * Doubtful * Vapor Dream |
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